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As more Pinoy Olympians advance in Tokyo, Ronnie Henares quips: 'Nesthy, EJ and Carlo, my friends!'
Ronnie Henares is keeping an eye on the Filipino Olympians still competing in Tokyo after becoming a viral meme thanks to Hidilyn Diaz' historic gold last week.
As cash rewards and other prizes poured in for the star weightlifter, someone made a meme using Ronnie's character in "Pepito Manaloto," an annoying financial analyst who is always trying to take advantage of people.
In Aubrey Carampel's report on "24 Oras," Sunday, Ronnie gamely jumped on the bandwagon and even made a joke about the other Pinoy athletes who have advanced in the Olympics.
"Nesthy, EJ, and Carlo, my friends!" he said.
He was referring to boxers Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam, as well as pole vaulter EJ Obiena.
Nesthy is assured of at least a silver medal after reaching the finals of the women's featherweight division. Carlo marched into the quarterfinals of men's flyweight division, while EJ made it to the finals of the men's pole vault.
Other Filipino athletes contending for medals include boxer Eumir Marcial, who is now assured of a bronze medal in the men's middleweight division, as well as gymnast Carlos Yulo, who is in the finals of the men's vault.
Ronnie also cracked a joke about Carlo Paalam's surname.
"Sana 'wag naman siya magpaalam sa tournament na ito. Sana manalo siya so dapat ang pangalan niya ay Carlo Panalo," he said.
("I hope he doesn't say goodbye in this tournament. I hope he wins so his name should be Carlo Panalo.")
In all seriousness, however, he said he is proud of our athletes, especially golden girl Hidilyn.
"I was super proud of what you did for the Filipino people. I was so proud of you being such a humble winner. You really deserve to win and all the blessings you're getting," he said.
Olympic medalists are entitled to cash incentives as mandated by Republic Act 10699. Private companies have also pledged rewards for winning athletes.
—Franchesca Viernes/MGP, GMA News
